Haris Youth Hostel Sarajevo

... on the way to Belgrade, Serbia. She asked if I wanted to join...<br><br>We left Sarajevo to go to our first stop, Zepa. <br><br>Zepa was what was referred to as a UN designated safe haven that had UN troops stationed there to protect the local Bosnians.<br><br>In late '95 the Serbian army came in and took control of the village and expelled the Bosnians. Pre-war the town population was around 3000, now it's around to 300.<br><br>We arrived in the town and went for a drive around ...

... its ridiculous colour. Abandoned buildings that have been sealed shut for 15 years now have trees growing inside them. They're sealed shut because they have not been combed clean since the war ended. I feel some of them are kept that way so no one forgets. Everyone is advised to not enter abandoned buildings.<br><br>I visited a war exhibition in a narrow alleyway, and saw what was, in all likelihood, belongings, weapons, and things that have been scavenged from the time ...

... from one side to another. As the further you got to the end of the street the more bullit holes you could see in the buildings and granade and shells in the side of the building it was really quite amazing to still see them. After strolling around the city for a while I went back to the old town to grab some lunch called Ceach or something like that which is a nan bread, onions and these fried meat which was really good as well as helping myself to a little choc desert which were ...

... me in a huge wave of icy sharp water droplets, like needles. Soaked me entirely a few times. Kept a smile on, knew it would make me laugh in the near future, retelling the story. The only problem was that when I was soaking wet i decided i would splurg on the tram, then took it way to far. Considering the bus/train station was right next to that huge glass building and I couldnt see it anywhere, i was a little worried. And running through frozen puddles ...

We started the day off with a tour of the war time tunnels. The city was in a siege for over 1400 days. The war time tunnels were how the city survived. Our guide was amazing. We were lucky enough to have a mini-van to ourselves. We started our Tunnel Tour by driving down Sniper Alley and then onto the house near the airport where the entrance/exit to the tunnel is.

... war. He ýs an engýneer by trade and had a great job and lýved very comfortably. Fortunatley he was able to get a sýmýlar job ýn the US but he feels that lýfe ýs murcher more dýffýcult (fýnancýally). I felt for hým. I couldnt ýmagýne losýng everythýng and startýng all over and never gettýng back to the lýfestyle you once had. Anyhow, I was glad that we met hým and hýs mom. Both were very sweet people. The traýn rýde was about 2.5 hours long ...

... just for good measure. So the executive decision was made to exit the motorway prematurely and hop on a B road to Bos in the hope of being able to remain awake all the way there. Well, the language on the road signs certainly ...

... a bridge and then go straight'. We followed these directions, passing an interesting 'steaming stream' that gave us an indication of the thermal springs that Ilidza has been known for since Roman times. We found ourselves on a long straight path lined by plane trees. It was Saturday and quite a number of Sarajevans were enjoying a weekend amble along this walkway. We passed by some grand houses, mostly burnt out wrecks but some that have been restored ...

... and charted a course to economic prosperity based on gouging tourists and selling $7 bags of muesli, Slovenia kept its head down and figured no one would bother it, while Serbia woke up and realised that most of the Yugoslav army identified themselves as ethnically Serb. And conveniently, they were armed and entrenched throughout their neighbours territory. Opportunity knocked while ethics slept. In a state of fluidity over national borders, Serb President ...

... the hostel. The hostel was arranged in an interesting set up, with the bunk beds we were sleeping in being in what best resembled a common room, and a balcony attached but no door. So basically the only place for people to hang out was in our sleeping area. We sat up talking on the balcony to two other backpackers who had just come through the trans-mongolian railway and asked them all about their experiences, while a few other backpackers played ...